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# Federal Sentences in the Southern District of West Virginia, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-southern-district-of-west-virginia/
- Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:12.000Z
- Description: In the Southern District of West Virginia, 36% of sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 fell below the guideline range without a request from the government. The district sentenced 2,416 people in that period, and their median prison term was 42 months, compared with 24 months for all federal distr
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › Southern District of West Virginia

**In brief:** In the Southern District of West Virginia, 36% of sentences in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 fell below the guideline range without a request from the government. The district sentenced 2,416 people in that period, and their median prison term was 42 months, compared with 24 months for all federal districts. Drug trafficking made up 52% of the cases.

Updated November 3, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 2,416 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Below-Range Sentences Without a Government Request

The Commission recorded the sentence's position against the guideline range for 2,382 people in the district. 848 of them (36%) were sentenced below the range without a government request.

Within-range sentences made up 51% (1,216), close to the 48% figure for all 94 districts. Below-range sentences at the government's request were 11% (254). Above-range sentences were 3% (64).

The guideline range is the sentencing span the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines produce for a given offense and criminal history. The records show where each sentence fell but not the reasons a judge gave.

## Prison Terms in the District

2,184 people (90%) received a prison term, near the 91% national share. 152 (6%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.

The median prison term among those sent to prison was 42 months (3.5 years). A quarter received 84 months or more, and a quarter received 18 months or less. 2 people received a life sentence.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 561 people. All terms here are the terms imposed, not time served.

## Offense Types in the Southern District

Drug trafficking accounted for 1,255 people (52%), with a median prison term of 60 months. Firearms offenses accounted for 443 (18%), with a median of 37 months.

Fraud, theft, and embezzlement had 184 people (8%). Prison offenses and sexual abuse each had 89 (4%). Sexual abuse had the longest median prison term in the table, 121 months, and the lowest guilty-plea rate, 88%.

Child pornography (images of child exploitation) accounted for 71 people (3%), with a median of 78 months. Immigration had 79 people and drug possession 29.

| Offense type             | People sentenced | Share of district | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ------------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| Drug Trafficking         | 1,255            | 52%               | 60 months     | 98%            |
| Firearms                 | 443              | 18%               | 37 months     | 97%            |
| Fraud/Theft/Embezzlement | 184              | 8%                | 12.5 months   | 97%            |
| Prison Offenses          | 89               | 4%                | 12 months     | 100%           |
| Sexual Abuse             | 89               | 4%                | 121 months    | 88%            |
| Immigration              | 79               | 3%                | 3.4 months    | 100%           |
| Child Pornography        | 71               | 3%                | 78 months     | 94%            |
| Drug Possession          | 29               | 1%                | 5 months      | 100%           |

## Who Went to Trial?

Guilty pleas accounted for 2,341 of 2,416 sentencings (97%), the same rate as nationally. 75 people were convicted after a trial.

The median prison term was 100 months after a trial, based on 73 people convicted at trial and sent to prison, and 42 months after a guilty plea. Those groups differ in their offenses, so the figures do not show the effect of a trial by itself.

82% of guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 18% were straight pleas with no agreement.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Restitution

2,047 people (85%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison. The median term was 36 months, and 18 (less than 1%) received it for life.

Restitution was ordered for 276 people (11%). A fine was ordered for 75 (3%).

Criminal history: 38% were in category I, the lowest category, and 10% in category VI, the highest. Court-martial records have no such field.

## Yearly Numbers

There were 992 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 1,424 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The yearly median prison term was 27 months in 2016 and 57 months in 2023\. In 2025 it was 52 months.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 217              | 27 months     | 99%            |
| 2017        | 221              | 36 months     | 98%            |
| 2018        | 239              | 46 months     | 98%            |
| 2019        | 315              | 36 months     | 96%            |
| 2020        | 262              | 42 months     | 97%            |
| 2021        | 220              | 50 months     | 97%            |
| 2022        | 269              | 54 months     | 96%            |
| 2023        | 227              | 57 months     | 96%            |
| 2024        | 230              | 51 months     | 98%            |
| 2025        | 216              | 52 months     | 95%            |

## What These Numbers Leave Out

Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear in the Sentencing Commission data. Acquittals and dismissals are not counted. The records cannot show why sentences here fell below the range as often as they did.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Southern District of West Virginia (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "W Virginia South") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (2,416). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-sentences-outside-guideline-range/)
- [Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-mandatory-minimum-sentences/)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.